Parliament's party history for this member: Labour ( – present).
Register of interests
Every entry the member has in the Register of Members' Financial Interests, as Parliament currently publishes it. The wording and values are the member's own declarations; nothing here has been assessed by this site.
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I called at the Poundland store in the Sovereign Shopping Centre a few days ago to check in on the team, speak to the manager and find out how they are doing. Unsurprisingly, they are living with extreme uncertainty. Will the Minister speak directly to the employees of Poundland in Bournemouth and let them know exactly what this Government are doing to support them and save their jobs? After all, they just want to earn a good wage, put food on the table and be able to afford presents under the Christmas tree.
Does my hon. Friend agree that we do not need to choose between cheaper and cleaner energy, as the two can exist in harmony? One of the ways in which that will happen is the abolition of gas standing charges, which will save 23 million homes £45 on average. That is just one of the good things this Labour Government are doing not just to tackle our climate crisis, but to put more money into people’s pockets.
<Question HRSContentId="{3857DE7B-7116-41EC-B710-0E5BB447A8F4}">9. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{D89380C2-837A-4A43-BA06-F9FCDA0E3EFE}">What progress she has made on reforming the police funding formula.</QuestionText> </Question>
I thank the Minister for that response. I want more funding for policing, as well as the fairer allocation of it, to tackle the issues blighting Bournemouth, whether illegal e-bike use or ketamine use. I thank the Minister for agreeing, in writing today, to meet constituents whose lives have been deeply affected by that drug. I understand why police reform and funding formula reform go hand in glove, but can I urge the Minister, as we move forward with those reforms, to do everything she can to minimise the number of consultations needed to achieve fairer funding for Dorset? The longer we have to wait, the longer Dorset is at a disadvantage.
I pay tribute to Sir David Bell for his review into antisemitism in schools and colleges. Unfortunately, Bournemouth has recently seen antisemitic incidents, and I want my constituents to know that I stand against that every single time, and we must root out that ancient evil in Bournemouth. I also want to ask about what the Government will do to encourage positive engagements <span id="1159" class="column-number" data-column-number="1159"></span>with Jewish cultural experiences. The Russell-Cotes gallery and museum in Bournemouth is about to open a new exhibition about Jewish Bournemouth called “waves of change”. My right hon. Friend is of course very welcome to come and visit; equally another Minister from the Department for Education is very welcome to come and see the exhibition. What more would she like to see happen to encourage positive engagement with Jewish cultural experiences?
<Question HRSContentId="{A83CE68C-7F28-4269-87FC-D81EC04B3210}">19. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{BB03A7A9-EF28-4A3B-BED7-F3CEE01FD246}">What proportion of Best Start family hubs provide Healthy Babies support. </QuestionText></Question>
A new report by the Centre for Young Lives advocates putting health at the heart of every childhood, including putting Best Starts, Healthy Babies and remaining children’s centres on a statutory footing. Given that health services have structural advantages in providing capital management and getting new services up and running, what greater role can health services play in integrating services at Sure Start level?
SOBO Beach is a brilliant business and a thriving community, but it is set to close. An 11th-hour U-turn this week <span id="572" class="column-number" data-column-number="572"></span>saw Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council give SOBO Beach an 11-month delay to its inevitable closure, despite saying that such a move was impossible. There are concerns that the council leadership may have made incorrect statements to the council meeting that decided on that closure. Will the Leader of the House arrange a meeting for me with the relevant Minister so that I can raise my concerns on behalf of my constituents—nearly 10,000 people signed a petition to save SOBO Beach.
Local residents and I are deeply concerned about the possible return of a convicted child sex offender to Townsend following his planned release. On Saturday I held a community meeting which was joined by the police and crime commissioner as well as representatives of Dorset police. It is clear that people fear that this man will be not just a cause for concern in his own right, but a magnet for violent and antisocial behaviour to himself and the wider community. Will the Minister arrange for a meeting with the Probation Minister and me, along with local residents? The last thing we want is to see Townsend go through this sort of ordeal.
It is a privilege to speak in this debate on Jewish safety, and to represent one of Britain’s oldest seaside Jewish communities as the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East. Jewish families in Bournemouth have built businesses, strengthened our heritage and contributed to civic life, and we have had a number of Jewish mayors, including Louis Barney, Gabriel Jaffe, Michael and Anne Filer, Pamela Harris, Ben Grower, Barry Goldbart and Lawrence Williams.
I was privileged to attend the consecration of the new synagogue for the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation in East Cliff—my neighbourhood—in the presence of the Chief Rabbi just a few short months ago. It marked a new chapter in the life of the Jewish community in Bournemouth. The new shul has been refurbished, and throughout the building there are colours inspired by Bournemouth’s sand, cliffs, piers and breakwaters. The light-filled main prayer hall has a series of stained-glass images, many of which recreate those from the old Wootton Gardens synagogue. I was pleased to visit that synagogue many times, including for its farewell concert, which showed that a new start means that we must also say farewell.<span id="273WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="273WH"></span>
My Jewish constituents deserve what every citizen deserves: to feel safe. The statistics tell part of the story: Dorset police tell me that they recorded 26 antisemitic crimes across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in the year to May, and every one of those crimes matters, but statistics alone cannot explain what it feels like when fear enters everyday life. For that, we must listen to the people in Bournemouth, so I encouraged my constituents to get in touch ahead of this debate.
Ann told me that she has removed the Star of David necklace that she wore throughout her life because she no longer feels comfortable openly displaying her Jewish identity. Stefan from East Cliff and Springbourne wrote:
“We are alone, we are afraid.”
At the age of 73, he has never experienced such open antisemitism, and he speaks now of conversations taking place around dinner tables that many had hoped belonged to history. David, a retired rabbi, said that British Jews regard themselves as British citizens first and foremost, and he spoke of generations of Jewish people serving our country in our armed forces, of prayers being said in synagogues each week for the royal family and the Government, and of a public duty throughout our town.
I know some Jewish patients in my constituency are reluctant to identify their faith when admitted to hospital, because they fear how they may be treated. I want them to know that, following Lord Mann’s review, the Government are requiring anti-racism training aimed at tackling antisemitism and other racism in the NHS. Another constituent, who is not Jewish himself, showed solidarity by writing to me about friends who feel unsafe and threatened.
Josephine, who has happily lived in Bournemouth for more than two decades, told me that she never expected to face continual hostility and intimidation. She and her husband recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary at the synagogue, but they felt compelled to employ security guards for the event. Adele, who is 82, spoke movingly of her grandparents who found safety, democracy and peace of mind in our country, and she tells me:
“All we ask is to live here in peace and free from fear.”
Derek describes the reality that many Jewish people now live with, following the atrocities of 7 October and the war that followed, which has left many Jewish people spending their time, in his words, “watching our backs”, relying on police protection and the Community Security Trust to guard places of worship and community events.
Several members of the community have been in touch to talk about a particular incident in Bournemouth Square last year. Alongside Jewish residents and Christian supporters, a small protest—